The shape of a story
Lede
Also: lead
The opening sentence or two of a news story, written to pull the reader straight in with the most important point.
The lede (older spelling: lead) is the hardest line in the trade and the most important. Get it right and the reader keeps going; get it wrong and they are gone. A good lede answers the reader's silent question, "why should I care?", in one breath. Example: "A Sydney train driver saved forty passengers last night by trusting a gut feeling and ignoring a green signal."